Before the War
by TealGurl
Summary: A WIP collection of fluffy ficlets about the relationship between Simon and Betty before a certain crown came into their lives.
1. Jump Start

Oh, of _course._

"C'mon…"

Simon Petrikov let out a low, frustrated groan as his car sputtered back to a dead halt, turning the key in the ignition once more even though he knew full well that it would do no good.

It all led back to the same dead end, an endless loop of fleeting hope when it rumbled to life...and then despairing annoyance when it gave out.

The leather seat creaked a bit as he leaned back into it, stiff from the cold, cheeks puffing out with a heavy breath, the heat causing his glasses to fog up.

Well, _now what?_

The library had just closed, the nearest phone would be at a bank half a mile down the road, the winter streets were far too iffy to risk walking, and his cell phone was every bit as dead as his hopes for a nice evening.

With a weary sigh, he shoved his car door open and stepped back out, shoving his hands back into his pockets in an attempt to keep them warm, inwardly cursing himself for forgetting gloves. He clenched them into fists, painfully aware of just how numb they were becoming.

He kicked at a few icicles dangling from the bottom edge of the vehicle, watching them fall into the waiting slush in an almost-depressed sort of absence of mind.

"Uh, hey!" Came a soft, near-shy voice from behind, snapping him out of his trance. "Simon?"

Simon turned to look at his potential-benefactress, becoming a bit flustered when he recognized the redheaded woman who stared back from behind pointed glasses.

"_Betty?_" His face was already flushed from being out in the cold for so long, but now it seemed to be catching fire as he stammered out, "W-wow, I haven't… I haven't seen you since high school,"

She was unable to help a little laugh as she walked to stand next to him, hugging herself in an attempt to stay warm.

"Do you, ah… need a hand?"

"Uh, n-no… Well, yes but-"

Her smile broadened in amusement at his clear embarrassment, though certainly not in an unkind way. Simon couldn't quite help staring at her face, taking in every last detail. The way perfect little snowflakes would catch in her hair and thick eyelashes, lingering a moment before melting. The way her nose wrinkled just a bit when she smiled. The way her breath billowed gracefully from her full lips.

"What's the problem?"

"Huh? O-oh, dead battery!" He blurted out awkwardly, gesturing to the front of his car with the nod of a head.

"Do you have cables? I could give you a jump start."

He sighed, shoulders slumping a bit. "No, afraid I don't. Really, uh, need to invest in that…"

"Oh…" She said softly, with little-to-no detectable emotion caught in her tone. "Well, is there anything else I can do?"

"Actually…"

...

"Okay… See ya in a bit. Bye." He ended the call and handed Betty back her phone, somehow managing a fully-coherent thanks this time. "Well… Thanks for all the help, Betty. A friend of mine's going to come help me out…"

"Do you want me to… I dunno, stay here while you wait? In case something happens?"

"Oh no, you don't have to do that!" He blurted out, inwardly slapping himself for making it sound like he wanted her to leave. _Why was he so bad at this?_

"You sure?" She questioned, surprising him with the sheer amount of concern in her kind voice. "I...I mean it's _freezing_ out here and…"

"I'll be fine," Simon reassured quickly, pulling a hand out of his pocket to awkwardly run it through his hair. Her face fell into an unreadable expression.

"You don't even have gloves?"

"Well… No, but-"

She had already started tugging off her own, choosing to make herself deaf to his protests and clear hesitance as she muttered to herself, "If you're going to wait out here for lord knows how long…" With an embarrassed smile, she held them out. "...I mean, I know they're pink and all, but… At least take these so your fingers don't fall off."

He opened his mouth to decline the gift, but changed his mind and took them gratefully.

"Thanks," The antiquarian mused genuinely, matching her own smile. "Really!"

"It was nice talking to you," She returned, turning a bit to the side while her flush deepened. "I wish there was more I could do, but.. Maybe… Maybe we could do this again sometime? I mean, get together again?"

He couldn't help the way his eyes widened, stunned by the question that he had been too afraid to ask himself, thrust into a stupor by the fact that _this was actually happening._

"Really? W-wow, I'd love to!" He finally managed in an enthusiastic stammer. She fumbled around in her pockets for a scrap of paper and asked for a pen, hardly able to scribble the numbers down fast enough before she thrust it into his hand.

"Call me sometime soon?"

"Y-yeah! Of course!"

"I...guess I'll see you later then…"

Betty offered a final, timid wave before climbing into her car and starting the engine. He watched her drive off, returning the departing gesture, smiling the whole time.

Simon hardly noticed the wait for his rescuer to arrive, simply letting his daydreamy thoughts off their chain for a while. Nor did he notice the chugging of his friend's ridiculous diesel truck as it pulled in, hardly offering more than a glace of acknowledgement when he walked over.

"Nice gloves, Simon."

He looked down at the piece of paper fluttering in his hand, then carefully tucked it into his pocket with a faint hint of a smile.

"You have no idea…"


	2. Powerout

_This was a Christmas gift written for a friend on Tumblr, but I'm posting here as well! Enjoy!_

* * *

"Breadballs, it's freezing out here..." He muttered, patting at the outside of his coat pockets in search of the metallic jingling of his keys.

She snorted, freckled face reddened from the harsh temperature and harsh winter winds. "No kidding,"

Betty's tone was teasing, twinged with a bit of guilty impatience. She tucked her gloved hands underneath her arms, bouncing a bit in place to try and keep warm while Simon fumbled the door open.

The two had just returned from the annual, obligatory trip to church for Christmas mass. She'd never been much of a religious person herself, to be perfectly honest, and could never really help but feel a mite guilty about it. The old chapel was always beautiful though, and she could appreciate several things about going. At any rate, both were exhausted from the long service, which had been preceded (and then followed) by the icy, crowded, treacherous city roads. Not that that had been unexpected; driving was always a nightmare this time of year.

Simon opened the door, being greeted by a burst of welcomingly warm air in the face as they both quickly rushed in and shut it again behind them. Funny... As nice as it was in here compared to the outdoors, he could've sworn that he'd turned up the thermostat at least a little before they'd left... Tugging off his gloves, he reached over for the foyer lightswitch and flicked it on. Nothing. He paused for a moment, looking around the corner further into the complex and starting to feel a sinking sensation. They hadn't really bothered to do much about decorating, but the few lights that they did have on the tree weren't on either. Which could only mean one thing.

Well, crud.

"Oohh no," Betty mumbled with a cringe, trying the lightswitch herself a few times, clearly having come to the same conclusion. "Power's out."

Simon looked back outside at the steadily-falling snow with a low groan, knowing that they could likely attribute their current lack of electricity to the nasty weather. Just wonderful.

Betty blew a puff of air to move a strand of hair from her face, still half-wincing at the unpleasant situation while she tugged off her nice boots which had been splattered with parking lot slush. "Well... I guess I'm gonna go get changed," she sighed, hanging up her coat before heading for their bedroom.

Simon nodded, running a hand through his slightly-damp hair before going off in search of candles or something of the like. They'd have to make the best of things, seeing as how it didn't seem as though the storm was going to let up anytime soon.

"Fa la la la la," Simon greeted sarcastically, collapsing down on the couch next to his fiancee after having gotten changed himself. The temperature inside was slowly dropping (perhaps mimicking their current spirits), and there wasn't much they could do about it. He'd grabbed a few extra blankets from the hallway closet and set them down as well, although neither had moved to grab one just yet. Betty had layered up on sweaters, and was currently sitting with her knees curled up to her chest underneath the outermost one. It was childish, but cute and evidently effective, all of which was enough to make him smile.

"It looks really pretty outside," She commented softly, staring past him and out their window. He turned his head to see perfectly well just what she meant. The snowfall was lovely enough to disguise the inconvenience that it really was, coating the grass and sparse trees with a thick layer of powdered-sugar-like white, all of which contrasted heavily against the dark, moody blue sky. Frost was starting to creep up the corners and around the edges of the window pane, framing the entire scene in flowery lace. Neither said a word, content to just sit in silence for a minute or two.

Simon was jerked out of his stupor by slight movement in his peripheral vision, and her turned to find Betty shivering. Heck, he himself had tightened his jaw to keep his teeth from chattering. "You still cold?" he asked in concern, although it was a rather stupid question. She raised an eyebrow in a way that seemed to say 'ya think?', but she nodded by way of answer. Not hesitating for even a second, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a cuddle, smiling a little again when she squeaked in surprise.

"Smooth," she said, looking back at him with a little sideways smile as they leaned back to recline against the armrest of the couch. "Real smooth."

"I try to be," he responded through a light laugh, grabbing for a blanket and sloppily spreading it over the both of them to the best of his ability. Betty was more than happy to snuggle back up against him, making herself comfortable and enjoying the warmth.

"Mhmm..." Interjecting with a quick kiss, she finished through a tiny yawn, "Well... For what it's worth, merry Christmas, Simon."

He echoed her, more than ready to pass out himself. "Merry Christmas, love."

The couple was awoken hours later by a sharp, glaring light flickering on from above, shining directly in their faces as irritatingly as seemed possible. After that came the low, rumbling growl of the furnace sounding through the walls, urging them awake with its familiar grumbling.

Simon was first to stir to life again, grimacing and squinting in the bright light from above. He noticed that he'd foolishly fallen asleep while still wearing his glasses, able to feel rather than see the imprints they'd left in his face. Hands a little numb as he tugged them off and set them on the coffee table, he mumbled sleepily to Betty, "Power's back..." She didn't respond, only turning her head so that her face was against his chest and shielded from the light. Figuring that their bed would be a little more accommodating, but also a little too settled at the moment, he decided to let her decide. "D'you want to get up and move?"

"...Nah," she said into his shirt, her tired voice a bit muffled. He couldn't possibly have agreed more. Straining a bit, he reached up and behind them to turn off the light, then burrowed back underneath the blankets. Settled back in one anothers arms, it didn't take long for them to fall asleep once again.


End file.
